Two Former Phillies' Pitchers Moved

Yesterday's Adam Dunn trade really surprised me, but today's moves were a bit more predictable. Paul Byrd was acquired by the Boston Red Sox and Freddy Garcia was picked up by the Detroit Tigers.

Let's start off with the Byrd move. The Red Sox traded for Byrd because they are down a starter now that Tim Wakefield is on the DL. Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 earned run average. Not bad numbers for the 37-year old former Phillie. Byrd had some good years for the bad Phillies' teams.

Freddy "nightmare" Garcia will be pitching for the pitching-starved Tigers. Garcia was a bigger waste of money than an "official" Major League Baseball (c'mon, 15 bucks for a baseball) for the Phillies last season. Anyone who's a Phillies' fan knows how the worst 1-2 combo in the National League (Garcia-Adam Eaton) tried to derail the Phillies last season. Garcia, hailed as the biggest offseason signing for the Phillies last season, went 1-5 with a 5+ ERA, before promptly going on the disabled list for the rest of the year (too bad Eation couldn't follow him.)

Gary Sheffield is reportedly on the market. The Tigers' outfielder/DH has complained about playing time in recent days. Does he really deserve more playing time? He's batting .219 with ten four-baggers, not nearly as good as the Sheff of old. He'll probably be moved very shortly, though.